Queen Victoria World Cruise 2024 Notes from the Navigator

[Andy Holloway]

It was interesting to read the part where she left Auckland and headed down the east coast of North Island as, my wife and I were rounding the NE corner of N Island at the same time but heading towards Auckland after a 6 week trip around NZ. We started in Christchurch went clockwise around S Island, crossed over to North and then went all the way up East Coast and finally flew home from Auckland as Victoria was heading across to Aus.

It was lovely to visit the parts of NZ that you don't see when visiting as crew or passengers on a ship, inland places like Lake Wanaka, Mt Cook and a really interesting town called Twizel.

[Lynda Bradford]

It was interesting to read the part where she left Auckland and headed down the east coast of North Island as, my wife and I were rounding the NE corner of N Island at the same time but heading towards Auckland after a 6 week trip around NZ. We started in Christchurch went clockwise around S Island, crossed over to North and then went all the way up East Coast and finally flew home from Auckland as Victoria was heading across to Aus.

It was lovely to visit the parts of NZ that you don't see when visiting as crew or passengers on a ship, inland places like Lake Wanaka, Mt Cook and a really interesting town called Twizel.

Sounds like an amazing experience to do a six week trip around New Zealand, which is a country I would have liked to have visited before now and to have seen more of the country. 

Isn't it amazing to think we were both in the same region of the World at the same time.  Just think if we had been in Auckland later, or you there earlier, you may have seen me with my QE2 Story T shirt and said "what a small World"

[Lynda Bradford]

Wonderful notes, commentary, and photos, Lynda ! Many thanks ! I do like the look of the library very much. Was there one particular entree at dinner that could qualify as your all time favorite ?

Glad to hear you are still enjoying reading the notes and seeing the photos.  The library in Queen Victoria on two decks is really nice. 

I tended to eat a lot of fish at dinner and was happy with the variety on the menus.  Having a choice or appetisers, soup, salad, entree then a dessert, I was spoilt for choice, but I cannot remember having a particular favourite.

[Lynda Bradford]

Queen Victoria World Cruise 2024 navigator notes (sector 4)

7 March 2024
Airlie Beach
Weather: 26 degrees. Torrential rain
Balancing tradition with modernity, Airlie Beach offers a diverse selection of cultural sites and experiences, both along the beautiful coast and inland. The section of the long Shute Harbour Road is the centre of activity, with ticket agencies, information centres, restau-rants, cafés and shops to entice you. Conway National Park, a short distance off the road to Shute Harbour, offers several scenic walks, while Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands are renowned for the opportunities to snorkel and scuba dive. The Whitsunday Islands can be reached by ferry from Airlie Beach in minutes and offer wonderful opportunities to see tropical fish and coral reefs up close.

The visit to Airlie Beach could not have been more different to our previous visit in 2020 (see photo of sunny beach.)  The local tender took passengers ashore, but because of the torrential rain many passengers just returned to the ship on the tender.  Also photo showing coastline as ship sailed away from Airlie Beach in the evening. 

8 March 2024
Cairns
Weather: 30 degrees cloudy with scattered showers

Laid-back Cairns is located in the tropical Far North of Queensland. It's the remarkable gateway to the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, a spectacular location renowned for snorkelling and diving amongst kaleidoscop in marine life and coral.
A mecca for divers and a haven for lovers of the great outdoors. Cairns is a unique city and home to two World Heritage sites - the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree National Park. A visit to Cairns offers an ultimate tropical discovery.
Cairns cruise port is situated next to the vibrant city centre. Here you'll find extensive shopping and dining experiences, and direct access to the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritage

[Lynda Bradford]

Queen Victoria World Cruise 2024 navigator Notes (Sector 4)

9 March 2024
Weather: 28 degrees sunny spells
Enroute to Bitung
Queen Victoria let go her lines thrusted off the berth and proceeded out of the buoyage channel before disembarking the local pilot. Passing 3 nautical miles off the Upolu, oyster, Batt and Tongue reef on the port side. Once clear Queen Victoria altered to the North

10 March 2024
Continuing a north easterly course Queen Victoria will pass various shoals within the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres.

The reef is in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, separated from the coast by a channel 160 kilometres wide in places and over 61 metres deep. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage site in 1981

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

QV World Cruise 2024 Notes from the Navigator Sector 1 (contd)

21 January 2024: Port Canaveral
Weather: high 16 low 12 degrees
The second-busiest cruise port in the United States, Port Canaveral is a charming seafront destination, bustling with activity. Though often known as the gateway to Florida's famous theme parks, its raison d'être is the Kennedy Space Centre - in 1951 the US Army Corps created the inlet to allow goods to be shipped to what is NASA's primary base for space exploration. Given its monumental importance, visiting the Space Centre is highly recommended. Port Canaveral also has a plethora of excellent cafés, restaurants and bars, where you can enjoy an always-generous helping of food and a refreshing drink in the warm Florida sun. The famously sunny weather here makes the delightful coastal parks - many of which are covered with sand dunes.

I am still fascinated by these notes and absorbing them gradually.

If the Kennedy Space Centre had been on offer as an excursion, I would have been among the first to sign up! An amazing place in the midst of fascinating landscapes, as we learn from the Navigator. These notes are a wonderful read!

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

QV World Cruise 2024 - Notes from the Navigator
Sector 2: Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco

24 January 2024
For our second sea day Queen Victoria will steam a more southerly heading, having rounded the eastern edge of Cuba and through the Windward Passage. This is an area of sea that separates Cuba and Haiti, and is the direct shipping path between the Panama Canal and the eastern seaboard of the USA. Later we will alter to the southeast, having passed the islands of Jamaica and cleared the Haitian coast, as we cross the Caribbean Sea bound for Aruba.

You passed through fascinating sea areas. Were any of the Caribbean islands visible as you continued on your route?

Did you enjoy the sea days? What was your favourite occupation on those days?

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

QV World Cruise 2024: Notes from the Navigator (sector 2 contd)

27 January 2024
This morning Queen Victoria will alter onto a southerly course before embarking her Panama Canal Pilot and passing to the west of the port of Colon on our port side. Throughout today Queen Victoria will transit the many buoyed channels and narrow Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks which make up the Panama Canal. Once clear of the Canal this evening we will disembark the local Pilot.

I wonder whether the Panama Canal was one of the top highlights of your voyage? What a fascinating piece of engineering and service!

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

QV World Cruise 2024: Notes from the Navigator

29 January 2024
Queen Victoria will let go her lines thrust off the berth, exit the buoyage channel and disembark the local pilot. We will alter our course to the southeast through the anchorages for the Panama Canal passing 2.8 nautical miles off Taboguilla Island and Taboga Island on the starboard side. Taboga Island also known as the "Island of Flowers", is a volcanic island in the Gulf of Panama. It is a tourist destination, about 12 miles from Panama City, Panama. We will then alter to a southernly course entering the IMO adapted traffic separation scheme. Once clear of the TSS we will alter our course to a south westly and then westly heading.

Very interesting to read about this scheme. But of course it is logical, as the amount of sea traffic through the Panama Canal must be immense, and so shipping must be channelled  in an orderly way from a long distance either side to travel into and out of the Canal.

[Andy Holloway]

I might well have posted this before so, if you've already seen it then apologies and you can go and do something more productive than ready my stories - again!

For those others;
When i was serving on Coral Princess, post the 'ethnic cleansing' era of Cunard history, we were running out of Port Everglades on 10 day Caribbean cruises that took in a half transit of the Panama Canal. A half transit, is defined as entering the canal through Gatun locks, anchoring in Gatun lake for several hours, while passengers either go ashore on a tour or just to the nearby 'tourist' area to view the few stalls and watch a local show, prior to returning back onboard. Then, when you're turn comes around, the ship exits the Canal back through Gatun Locks and goes into the local port - Cristobal - for a few hours to collect those passengers who had been on the day trip.
One day we were just finishing going through the locks when i noticed a 'semi familiar' sight behind us entering the locks - Queen Victoria.
Frotunately i had my camera with me so, once we were ashore and QV was entering the last lock i was able to take a series of pictures of her in her first Panama Canal transit. In fact i was able to following her until she sailed out of sight further into the canal.
When i went back onboard for my lunch i took the opportunity to send these pictures to QV Captain, who was Paul Wright, my first Captain on QE2. He then sent them onto Cunard for 'ttt management' to view.

Unbeknown to me, the ship's photographers had spent a lot of money hiring transport to take them down the canal so that they could get the 'first' shots of QV on her transit! So although theiers would have been 100% better than my shot with my little digital camera, mine were the 'first'!
Fortunately, for me i never met up with anybody from the QV Phots again.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

That is a great story, Andy, and how lucky you were to catch the first photographs of Queen Victoria in the Panama Canal! And of course the captain would have been delighted to receive the photos so quickly and from you!

[Andy Holloway]

That is a great story, Andy, and how lucky you were to catch the first photographs of Queen Victoria in the Panama Canal! And of course the captain would have been delighted to receive the photos so quickly and from you!

I still sleep with one eye open though, just in case!

[Lynda Bradford]

Great story Andy thanks

[Lynda Bradford]

I wonder whether the Panama Canal was one of the top highlights of your voyage? What a fascinating piece of engineering and service!

The Panama Canal was one of the highlights of the voyage.  We didn't know what to expect and I have to say that it was beyond expectations as there was so much to see, like  watching the lock gates closing and opening and the water filling and draining.  It was also interesting to watch the ship going through the adjacent lock.  It was a memorable experience. 

You passed through fascinating sea areas. Were any of the Caribbean islands visible as you continued on your route?

Did you enjoy the sea days? What was your favourite occupation on those days?

I cannot remember seeing the Caribbean Islands as we sailed through the Caribbean but perhaps I was just too busy onboard ship and not being observant.  Many people spent a lot of time on deck with binoculars watching the marine life and possible watching for islands. 

I had responded to Cunardqueen's question on a previous post about activities that perhaps answers your question.  Lots to do and I enjoyed the sea days as much as the days in port.
https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php?topic=10291.msg124224#msg124224

[cunardqueen]

Do we know how much the Queen Victoria pays for a canal transit ?